Can oil capacity in owners manual be wrong?

[OceanRuns]

Had the oil changed today in my Toyota T100. Local shop (nice guys) just charged for labor with me proving oil/filter.

Owners manual says capacity is 5.2 quarts. Guy who did the oil change says it took a whole 5 liter jug (which I think is close to 5.3 quarts).

Close enough? Worry about overfill?

Thanks.

 

[renegade_987]

Dont worry about 0.1 quarts. no problem, most cars can take a little more than what is in the owners manual.

 

[SuperDave456]

A liter is like .98 quarts or something close to it.
Check the dipstick. If it is close to 1/2 way on it you are good to go.

My truck says 6 quarts. But it takes 6.5 to get it exactly 1/2 way into the good area of the dipstick.
It happens.
A few ounces one way or another won't hurt anything. Just make sure it is not half way up the dipstick or a totally dry dipstick.

 

[friendly_jacek]

The 0.1 L/qt difference is nothing.

But to answer the initial general question if the specified volume could be wrong:

yes, it could be wrong if manufacturer discovers later that oil volume should be higher that initially specified. It happened to Toyota: https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/posts/2320863/

 

[OldCowboy]

Originally Posted By: SuperDave456
A liter is like .98 quarts or something close to it.


As it turns out, a quart is 0.946352946 liters.

 

[SrDriver]

5 Liters = 5.28334 US Quarts.

 

[HTSS_TR]

One liter is 0.957 quarts, 5 liters is 5.28 quarts. 0.1 quarts over max is nothing to worry about.

 

[brianl703]

The manual for a Toyota Echo listed two oil capacities on two different pages.

Not that it really matters; I doubt that anyone but me has ever looked at that manual since it was printed.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: OceanRuns
Worry about overfill?

Thanks.

Please, find something else to worry about.

 

[Chris Meutsch]

I put an entire 1/2 quart over into my CR-V. 0.1 quarts is nothing.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: Kestas
Mercedes once broadcasted a change to one engine, where they asked people to fill 7.4 qts, instead of the 7.9 qts originally specified in the manual. They found the initial requirement was too hard on the engine seals.

The manual of our C300 4matic says 8.5 qt. In reality, this engine only takes 7.4 qt to get up to full mark on the dipstick. Sadly, dealer service departments didn't get the memo either and they keep filling it with 8.5qt. This in turn results in occasional "check oil level" warning in the instrument cluster, I'm guessing due to the fact that the engine is overfilled. Sigh...

 

[JHZR2]

Absolutely. Ive seen some MB diesel owners' manuals that say the engine takes 8.5qts. They all take 7.5qts (or so). The FSM indicates the correct amount (the 7.5qts) and the 8.5 to fill at the initial fill-up.

Most of the OMs are correct, but if you have one that says 8.5... well...

Good thing there arent cat converters or sensors in those old diesels!

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
The manual of our C300 4matic says 8.5 qt. In reality, this engine only takes 7.4 qt to get up to full mark on the dipstick. Sadly, dealer service departments didn't get the memo either and they keep filling it with 8.5qt. This in turn results in occasional "check oil level" warning in the instrument cluster, I'm guessing due to the fact that the engine is overfilled. Sigh...



Glad that MB used the same numbers from their 1985 OM printing!

 

[JOD]

maybe the oil filter was different than OEM and had a little more capacity?

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
The manual of our C300 4matic says 8.5 qt. In reality, this engine only takes 7.4 qt to get up to full mark on the dipstick. Sadly, dealer service departments didn't get the memo either and they keep filling it with 8.5qt. This in turn results in occasional "check oil level" warning in the instrument cluster, I'm guessing due to the fact that the engine is overfilled. Sigh...



Glad that MB used the same numbers from their 1985 OM printing!

Well, the 8.5qt number is correct for the C300 (non-awd version). But the C300 4matic has a different shape oil pan to accommodate the awd system, therefore its engine oil capacity is smaller by about 1 qt, and at the same time it takes about 1 qt of front axle fluid which the RWD version does not.

Starting with 2009 model year, MB corrected the figures in the owners manual, but they never bothered to amend the older owner manuals and did not bother to issue a TSB to their service department either, despite me bringing it to MBUSA attention several times. They even issued me a discount service coupon for finding the error - LOL!

 

[WMSmotorhead]

My Focus says 4.5Q of oil... with the Hastings filter, it hits the 100% full mark at 5Q. So that's what I always dump in.

 

[AITG]

Try to figure out the capacity of a Subaru 2.5 NA engine. The manual states 4.2 quarts. At that amount, one side of the dipstick shows about 1/4 qt. down. The other side will read nearly a quart low.
The Forester Forum folks generally agree on 4.5 quarts. That puts one side nearly full, the other way over.
Hard to believe its that hard to design a freakin' dipstick.

 

[ron917]

Subie dipsticks are notoriously hard to read, because they are flat and one side of the stick touches the side of the tube so that oil smears on it. Read the side that was closest to the center of the engine. It's usually best to pull the dipstick, wipe it, wait 5 minutes (drink a beer), then come back to check the level.

The FSM for my Outcak lists 4.2 quarts WITHOUT a filter change, and 4.5 quats WITH a filter change. Seems like the value in the owner's manual is the first number.

 

[eljefino]

Where is he finding 5 liter bottles in the US?

I bet he's getting those new 5.1 quart bottles, just enough different to be different from walmart.

 

[oggb]

A John Deere gator a friend owns with the diesel engine says 1.3 quarts in the owner's manual but takes at least 2 quarts to get to half way on the dipstick.